Terms of reference for the independent Southport Inquiry
Published 7 April 2025
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1. On 29 July 2024, Axel Rudakubana carried out a brutal knife attack at a children’s dance club in Southport. He murdered 3 young girls, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King, and injured 10 other people. Sixteen others survived the attack but live with the serious emotional consequences.
2. It is of vital importance that there is a clear understanding of how this was able to happen, and the lessons identified, so that we can take appropriate steps to minimise the risk of a future tragedy. This statutory inquiry has been established to achieve this.
3. Phase 1 will examine evidence, including considering the findings of any parallel locally led investigations, to:
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Establish a definitive account of the events leading up to the Southport attack and the attack itself, including an overall timeline of Axel Rudakubana’s history and interactions with various state systems including criminal justice, education, social care and healthcare. The account of the attack will include the facts and circumstances of each individual death to reflect the purposes of section 5(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The inquiry will consider the accounts of all those directly impacted by the attack.
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Review the decision-making and information-sharing by local services and agencies which interacted with Axel Rudakubana prior to the attack to examine whether there were opportunities to manage the risk he posed to the public, making any required recommendations for improvements.
4. The findings of Phase 1 will inform the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s consideration of the focus of Phase 2 of the inquiry. This is expected to consider the adequacy of multi-agency systems to address the risk posed by young people whose fixation or obsession with, and desire to commit, acts of extreme violence presents a significant risk to public safety.
5. The inquiry will examine all evidence as the Chair shall judge appropriate, including, but not limited to, interviews with relevant witnesses and disclosure by the following organisations:
- Merseyside Police
- Lancashire Constabulary
- Counter-Terrorism Policing
- Lancashire County Council
- Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Department for Education
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Home Office
- Ministry of Justice
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- MI5
- NHS England
- Youth Justice Board
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
6. The inquiry will receive such oral and written evidence, as the Inquiry Chair shall judge appropriate and follow such procedures as are appropriate to ensure that the inquiry is effective.
7. The inquiry should aim to provide a final report on Phase 1 to the Secretary of State for the Home Department by the end of 2025 or early 2026, subject to reasonable progress on matters outside the inquiry’s control. The inquiry should make pragmatic choices as to its methods and procedure to deliver within this timeframe. The report may include recommendations for local and national authorities to address any issues arising from this work. In making recommendations, the inquiry should engage with relevant practitioners to ensure they are practicable.